Home cooks all over Greece have adored Vefa Alexiadou for 30 years. We've fallen for her too, thanks to her new cookbook, Vefa's Kitchen.

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It never occurred to me to weigh a book until now, but Vefa's Kitchen is so huge, I put it on my kitchen scale: five and a half pounds.

This is my life's work. For decades I traveled all over Greece — to the coast, the valleys, the mountain villages, the islands — collecting recipes. There are about 700 in the book — all the Greek classics, plus some modern ones from young Greek chefs living around the world.

I have to tell you the story of how I became a cookbook writer — this is my 14th book. My degree is in chemistry, but I took some courses in nutrition at Berkeley when my husband was there on sabbatical from Aristotle University. We often invited friends to dinner, and the next day, everybody would call and ask for my recipes. Little by little, my friends pushed me into writing a cookbook. So in 1980 I published one myself, called Invitation to Dinner. I used a portrait photographer to do the food. The photos were not so good. But in three months it sold 5,000 copies. I kept writing and self-publishing. But for 25 years I wanted so much to publish with a big publisher.

And now it's happened.

Yes, my dream has become a reality. The cover is so beautiful! It reminds me of the Aegean Sea. I wrote the book in a room that was all windows, with a view of the sea. So inspiring. But I was against the title in the beginning. I said, "Who knows Vefa? Only the Greek community."

In fact, you're a real celebrity in Greece, aren't you?

Everyone, from the two-year-olds up to the 90-year-olds, recognizes me from TV. I appear on a popular morning show. First thing I have to do when I get up in the morning is fix my face, fix my hair to be beautiful. Then I put on nice clothes, like I'm going to an office. Everyone was surprised when I went on TV that I didn't wear an apron! But I cook at home the same way.

Besides being a TV personality and best-selling author, you have a chain of kitchenware stores.

Yes, Vefa's House — it's sort of like a Williams-Sonoma. There are 20 stores in Greece. I got the idea because so many people who read my books or saw me on TV wanted to buy the products or utensils I mentioned.

Where did this love of cooking come from?

I grew up in a home where food was the first demand of the day. In Greece our main meal is lunch, so very early in the morning the casserole was on the fire, so it would be ready. And all the tantalizing smells filled the kitchen. My mother had such flair with food — she thought every dish should look as good as it tastes. I got my passion from her, and I spread this passion to other women. The ladies who see me on the street, they say, "Vefa, everything comes out perfect." My answer to this is: "Of course." Everything has passed through my kitchen before it comes to your kitchen.

Most of these 700 recipes from your kitchen are surprisingly straightforward.

Traditional Greek cuisine is based on simple, wholesome ingredients: olive oil, legumes, grains, nuts, fruits, fresh herbs, organic cheeses. Lots of vegetarian dishes and much more fish than meat. It has been that way for centuries. The Greek diet is the mother of Mediterranean cuisine — so healthy and tasty!